Earth Watch Report – Epidemic Hazards

Two teenagers from Montgomery and Liberty counties have died, and a third is in critical condition. Health experts said all three shared similar symptoms. Now they are working together to figure out what is behind it all. Tyler Lane Budro, 17, was the first case. He got sick in February and died on March 10. Tyler lived in Liberty County and was a junior at Hull-Daisetta High School. His mother said he first had a fever, and then violent seizures started days later. An infectious disease specialist in Montgomery County said Tyler, as well as a teenage girl and a teenage boy in that county had similar symptoms. The girl died on April 29. The boy is in critical condition at a Houston hospital. The specialist also said the teens’ symptoms included a fever, coughing, pneumonia, seizures and respiratory failure. Dr. Syed Ibrahim is Montgomery County’s epidemiologist. He said they ran 30 tests on the teens, including checks for rabies and meningitis. All tests came back with negative results, so health experts still have no idea what any of the teens came down with.

Dr. Ibrahim and other area health experts are still looking for answers. “I’m really concerned. I’m sad as well because these are the cases of the teenagers in our county,” said Dr. Ibrahim, MD, MPH. Parents and students at New Caney High School, where the teen who is in the hospital attends, are worried too. “I think they should have informed us about it more ‘cuz it’s not right that some kids don’t know about it and other kids are spreading (rumors) making it worse,” said student Courtney Villareal. School officials in New Caney ISD said they did not notify parents because they don’t have enough information. They said they don’t know what they’re dealing with at this point. Dr. Ibrahim said the disease or diseases do not appear to be contagious.” Some in New Caney ISD said they are afraid people might panic. Health experts stress there is no need for that. They’re just stumped. Tyler’s grieving mom is hoping experts can crack the case very soon.

Biohazard name:

Unidentified Illness (fatal)

Biohazard level:

4/4 Hazardous

Biohazard desc.:

Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.

Symptoms:

Fever, coughing, pneumonia, seizures and respiratory failure. First had a fever, and then violent seizures started days later

HOUSTON — A hospital spokeswoman at Texas Children’s in Houston said in a written statement that a 17-year-old boy in their facility is not believed, by them, to be connected two cases in which area teens died from a mystery illness.

But the lead doctor in charge of Montgomery County’s Health Department said all of the teens have similar symptoms.

No they sure aren’t. I hope they keep us updated on this one because the mystery illness that they reported on at the buy baby never was clarified. We still don’t know what was making people sick there.

There are many solvents that are used in the fracking process to separate or help separate the prized gas they seek. The most prominent chemicals are benzene and lead. Of course then there is always the methane gas that is freed when the fracking takes place. Yes it is certainly possible. Although if the water were the source would not more people be ill? I have no idea. I guess we will have to wait and see what they find. Hopefully they find the source quick so no one else becomes ill or dies.

Here are excerpts from
Congress Releases Report on Toxic Chemicals Used In Fracking

Horizontal fracking uses up to 300 tons of a mixture of 750 chemicals, many of them proprietary, and millions of gallons of water per frack. This water then becomes contaminated and must be cleaned and disposed of. To date, the oil/gas industry has been secretive about what chemicals are used, and has lobbied Congress for a variety of protections. Much of the contaminated water is taken to water treatment plants that are not designed to process the chemicals and radiation found in fracking fluids.

In 2005, the Bush/ Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. It exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Essentially, the provision took the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) off the job. It is now commonly referred to as the Halliburton Loophole.

The FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemical Act) is a House bill intended to repeal the Halliburton Loophole and to require the natural gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use.

The Democratic Committee staff analyzed the data provided by the companies about their practices, finding that:

The 14 leading oil and gas service companies used more than 780 million gallons of hydraulic fracturing products, not including water added at the well site. Overall, the companies used more than 2,500 hydraulic fracturing products containing 750 different chemicals and other components.
The components used in the hydraulic fracturing products ranged from generally harmless and common substances, such as salt and citric acid, to extremely toxic substances, such as benzene and lead. Some companies even used instant coffee and walnut hulls in their fracturing fluids.
Between 2005 and 2009, the oil and gas service companies used hydraulic fracturing products containing 29 chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for their risks to human health, or listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
The BTEX compounds – benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene – are SDWA contaminants and hazardous air pollutants. Benzene also is a known human carcinogen. The hydraulic fracturing companies injected 11.4 million gallons of products containing at least one BTEX chemical over the five-year period.
Methanol, which was used in 342 hydraulic fracturing products, was the most widely used chemical between 2005 and 2009. The substance is a hazardous air pollutant and is on the candidate list for potential regulation under SDWA. Isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethylene glycol were the other most widely used chemicals.
Many of the hydraulic fracturing fluids contain chemical components that are listed as “proprietary” or “trade secret.” The companies used 94 million gallons of 279 products that contained at least one chemical or component that the manufacturers deemed proprietary or a trade secret. In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these “proprietary” chemicals, suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify.

A deadly snail has been found in Houston, Texas, with authorities warning that it could be deadly to touch the type of snail as it seems to be carrying the deadly meningitis.

The snail found is originally from Africa, and is a species of large land snail that can grow up to eight inches long, and can lay as many as 100 eggs in a month.

Dr. Autumn J. Smith-Herron, the director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species at Sam Houston State University, has told NBC Houston affiliate KPRC, “Unfortunately, humans are picking the snails up. They carry a parasitic disease that can cause a lot of harm to humans and sometimes even death.”

The parasite is rat lungworm, which is potentially life-threatening. It is in fact a form of meningitis more commonly found in Southeast Asia. However, with the snails – known carriers – turning up in Texas, authorities are concerned locals could become seriously sick if they come into contact with them.

I suppose anything is possible. Unfortunately, they say they have tested for meningitis and rabies and the tests came back negative.

Thanks for the heads-up thought. I will keep an eye out for updates. As I said in another comment the last time they had a mystery illness nothing else was posted about it anywhere. I checked for a month to make sure I did not miss the findings once they were found , but I found nothing. I hope they follow through with reporting on this one. This one is quite a bit more serious than just dizziness and nausea at a store.

High Fevers themselves can cause convulsions and seizures…..Fevers are usually associated with a bacterial infection that the body is trying to fight off.

For the lungs to have been targeted….it could be something they breathed in….

If they can’t find any bacterial or viral cause for it…. then it just might be something in the air that they have come into contact with. Which is then a big problem in finding out what that could be!

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